The year 2016 marked the seventieth anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between Australia and the Philippines. It also heralded the election of Rodrigo Duterte as the Philippines’ 16th president. The new president has made numerous international headlines, both during the election campaign and since becoming his country’s head of state. As this article shows, Duterte’s propensity for tough talk and his hard-line domestic law enforcement practices have generated discomfort within Australia and complicated bilateral cooperation initiatives. Much more importantly, however, Duterte’s leadership appears to be triggering a reorientation of Philippine foreign policy that may have significant implications for the transforming regional order. Policymakers not only in Canberra, but also throughout the entire Asia Pacific, will now be watching the Philippines very closely. How Manila navigates between China and the United States, and how in turn the great powers respond, will say much about how regional power dynamics will unfold in the coming years. By watching the Philippines in the present, Australia may learn something about its own future.

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